


Manhattan at Night

by HollyEDolly



Series: What Are We? [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alpha Male, Comfort, Doggy Style, F/M, Hurt, Love, Manhattan, Need, Pain, Scars, Sex, Submission, Tickling, Window Sex, love making
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-03-12
Packaged: 2018-01-15 12:50:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1305475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollyEDolly/pseuds/HollyEDolly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While admiring the view of Manhattan Skye contemplates her relationship with Ward. When a playful request has a deeper meaning, she has to let her mind wander to darker places in order to understand Wards feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Manhattan at Night

**Author's Note:**

> Part 3 of the “What Are We?” series I’ve wanted to write this scene for Skye and Ward for a while. I just didn’t know how to do it but I think it fits into this series perfectly. Thank you for all your feedback and support it means a lot. Thanks for taking the time to send messages and prompts because this series started with a prompt.

It’s become a ritual maybe because it’s been a while since she’s been in a home that doesn’t move. The view from the large window in Wards lounge is stunning; she was a little shocked he could afford a place like this. But when he’d explained that it was rent controlled and that he worked so much he never had time to spend any of his salary, it made a lot more sense. She rests her head against the cool glass of the window and admires the sprawling cityscape. Manhattan at night is beautiful, the lights twinkle and the darkness hides all manner of blemishes. She knows she could quite easily fall in love with this place, maybe even as much as she has its tenant. The last few days have been some of the best of her life; she’d seen a side of Ward she hadn’t even known existed.

Before the incident (this is how they now referred to her brush with death) she had known him as her stoic, grumpy and far too serious S.O. There had been moments when she’d glimpsed the man behind this facade but they had been fleeting. Grant Ward had had a troubled past and as a result he’d become a very closed off man. It was hard to crack the tough guy exterior but she had come further with him than anyone else. Even before he had admitted his feelings for her, he had trusted her with painful memories from his past. Ones he had fought so hard to lock away but Skye had always been good with people. She knew what made them tick, how to get under their skin, how to help them see things another way. 

She was so lost in thought she didn’t hear him approach but her body sensed him. Whenever he was near, she would feel tingles run down her spine and her body would visibly relax. It was easy to forget about all the evil they had faced when he wrapped her up in his embrace, for a little while she could escape all the pain and the bad memories. He was her sanctuary, her safe place in a dark and troubling world. She’d never had that before. Her whole life she’d been on the move searching for answers, just passing through never laying down roots. Finally she felt like she’d found not only a family with her team but a home here with Grant, somewhere she could stay.

“What are you thinking?” he whispers in her ear. He’s hugging her from behind, she lets her head loll back against his firm chest sighing contentedly. He’s dressed only in pyjama pants, there really is no point putting on clothes. They don’t seem to be able to keep them on for very long.

“About how happy I am” she smiles and the effect is stunning. She looks radiant, the picture of health which is a stark contrast to a few weeks ago.

He kisses her temple gently and squeezes her tightly “Good. You like the view then?”

“It’s beautiful, I didn’t realise how much I missed having a view that wasn’t of an alley or clouds” she chuckled. Some of the homes she had lived in as a foster kid had been nice, the Brody’s farm house had been set in beautiful countryside but that had not worked out. She knew why now, but at the time the rejection had stung.

“It’s more beautiful when you’re here to share it with me” there’s a hint of a smile in his voice; she would have called him out for being so schmultzy. But she finds herself blinking back tears; they sure had come a long way from their rocky beginning. 

“Careful robot, someone might think this tough guy thing is just an act and you’re actually a big softie” she teases.

He pulls a horrified face “Oh No!” she laughs, more than she has in a long time. This is a side of Ward she could get used to, this playful acts his age Ward.

“I’ve missed that sound” his voice is soft and she knows his thoughts are flicking back to the incident. “It was...It’s...I’ve missed your laugh” she knows what he wanted to say, she’s glad he didn’t. She doesn’t want to think about the last few weeks, so she does what she always does and lightens the mood.

“I guess you’ll have to make me laugh more” she smirks.

“I suck at jokes” he admits.

“No...Really?” she says in mock disbelief. He gives her a playful poke in the ribs.

“Yes, really but there are always other ways to make you laugh” his grin is wicked she can see his reflection in the glass and she knows he’s up to something. His hands wander under the shirt she’s wearing (another one of his) and find a ticklish spot just under her ribs. She shrieks with laughter and surprise, writhing to try and get away from him. When she does manage to escape his grasp her back is pressed up against the window pane. He’s grinning like the Cheshire cat, his eyes dancing with amusement. He watches her closely like a predator stalking its prey; she knows he’s going to try again. She likes this game it’s exhilarating, she can feel the adrenaline pumping through her system. She has a split seconds warning before he strikes again, if it hadn’t been for all the training he’d given her he would have caught her. She manages to duck under his arm putting herself behind him, laughing at her own brilliance. “I still win” he pouts and it’s freaking adorable he looks about 12.

“Since the aim was to make me laugh, I guess you do” she concedes but this is fun and fun is something she’s been missing just lately. “But I’m about to change the game” her eyes sparkle with mischief “now you have to catch me” she purrs. She can see he likes that idea; this is the kind of thing he excels at so really it will be a short game. But she just can’t resist, she stretches like a runner and now it’s his turn to laugh.

“What do I get if I win?” he asks.

“What do you want?” she thinks she can probably guess what he wants but hey he’s surprised her before.

He strokes his chin like he’s weighing up his options; she’s now bouncing from foot to foot ready to take off at a moment’s notice. “If I win, I want you to consider staying here whenever we’re on leave” OK not quite what she was expecting but is she really surprised? He can hardly bear for her to be out of his sight at the moment. It’s sudden though because really what he’s asking is for her to move in with him or to think about it. 

“That’s a big step” her tone is cautious, it’s only been a few days since they decided they were doing this. It wasn’t like he was asking her to marry him; she thought she might just expire if he did. That was a commitment neither of them was ready for, and then she had a thought. She knows what’s really behind this.

“It is” he nods, she walks over to him. Snaking her arms around his waist she rests her head over his heart. “You know you’re making this very easy” he murmurs wrapping his arms around her slender frame. The thoughts she tries to lock away, her memories of the incident and all the fall out and the pain that came after come rushing back. It’s easy when you’re dealing with a traumatic event to become a little self absorbed. To forget how others are affected by what has happened, her entire team had been affected by her near death. But none more than Grant, she’d been so focused on forgetting all about it and working through her feelings for him that she’d missed this. He was hurting, a lot and she knew why. Grant was new to the whole team thing; he’d always been the master of his own fate. The lone wolf only relying on himself and that’s how he’d liked it. Sure his colleagues and even their fellow team mates made fun of his lack of people skills, but they didn’t know what she did. The last time he’d relied on someone else they’d seriously let him down and the last person to rely on him was his baby brother. If his reaction to the berserker staff had been any indication that had not turned out well. Not that it should have been his responsibility in the first place. He had been failed and it boiled her blood whenever the thought crossed her mind, as tough as her life had been the nuns had at least taken good care of her.

She was his rookie though, the very nature of that meant she had to rely on him. She almost curses herself for not realising sooner, he feels responsible. Like he failed her but he didn’t and it breaks her heart that he would even think that. “It’s not your fault” she whispers.

He tenses at her words then holds her tighter “Debatable” he replies quietly and she can tell he’s a million miles away. She needs to bring him back to her as only she knows how.

“It was my choice to go after Quinn, I knew what I was doing and what I was risking” she looks up at him, his eyes are overly bright.

“But...” she places her index finger over his lips and shakes her head.

“But nothing, I’m not going to let you do this to yourself” she chastises him, she doesn’t mean to but sometimes he needs it. “Grant it’s not that I don’t want too but this is all new, neither of us are great with this kind of thing. We need to give ourselves time to grow into this because I can’t do the fling thing with you, this has to work” he nods she knows he feels the same. “I know why you want me here but you can’t watch over me all the time” she reasons. He doesn’t look convinced at that; protectiveness is in his nature that’s not likely to change any time soon. Especially after recent events, she strokes his cheek tenderly and he leans in to her touch. She wants to take his pain away, wants to soothe him like he does her. Most of all she wants to take him up on his offer because she knows that as beautiful as his apartment is, it’s only a place. Wherever they end up so long as they’re together she’ll be home. She kisses him tenderly pouring all the words she can’t yet say into that kiss. He responds in kind, it’s needy and bittersweet and everything they both need in that moment.

Like the darkness can hide the ugliness of the world just for a little while, making love can heal the soul and distract the mind. Giving yourself over to more base desires, letting your mind empty of all thoughts except those of the one you love can help you to let go. There is no fairytale ending she knows that, she and Grant are two very complicated people with their own pain and their own damage. But she also knows that however lost he is she can always reach him. Just as he can reach her in places no one else has ever tried to tread. He deepens the kiss, turning her, so her back is pressed up against the window pane. She threads her fingers through his hair, drawing him to her. His kisses chasing away the darkness and leaving only love in its place, she wonders briefly if she’ll ever get used to the effect he has on her. She hopes not, he kisses his way a long her jaw and her eyes flutter shut. The moan he draws from her like a prayer, she certainly feels divine as he turns his attention to her graceful neck. Worshiping her with kisses that caress and nips that send shivers down her spine.

His hands find the buttons of the shirt she’s borrowed and he undoes them deftly, sliding the material down over her shoulders. She’s gloriously nude underneath, his lips find hers again and he’s kissing her like he’ll die without her. She can feel her heart swelling; she didn’t know she could feel so much love for one man. One grumpy but playful, mercurial as hell man he’s a walking contradiction and she loves him even more for it. So wrapped up is she in his attention and her desire, she doesn’t even care that she’s pushed up against his window buck ass naked for anyone to see and apparently neither does he. She breaks their kiss to hook her thumbs into the waistband of his pyjama pants and pulls them down over his hips, they slide to his ankles and he kicks them off. He yanks her back to him their bodies flush against each other. It doesn’t matter how many times they’ve made love her heart still races for him, he smiles down at her turning her again so she’s facing the window.

He bends so his lips are at her ear “Put your hands on the glass” he whispers, she shivers at his voice it’s low and husky and it calls to her on a primal level. She can feel her body soften as liquid heat pools at her core. Her muscles clench deliciously as she complies, she spreads her legs and pushes her ass up in the air. He runs his hand over her butt, before stepping behind her she can feel his erection brush up against her. She looks behind her, their eyes lock and she’s pleading with him, she needs him now like she knows he needs her. He takes his cock in hand rubbing the tip along her entrance spreading her wetness over her sex, her whole body quivers and she keens needily. Slowly he pushes inside her his hands finding the curve of her hips, in this position he feels incredibly deep. Her feminine muscles clench around his hard length drawing a growled expletive. She loves when he cusses it’s incredibly hot, he’s moving inside of her his thrusts gentle and measured. His hand moves across her over sensitised skin, banding his arm around her waist he pulls back so that she’s standing. In this position she is helpless, all she can do is let him take her. But she trusts him with her life and her heart, so she gives herself to him. His other hand finds its way to her throat; he turns her face giving him access to her lips and kisses her deeply as he thrusts into her swallowing her cries. 

He moves the hand that was holding her in place so that his fingers can stroke her clit, the pressure is heavenly. The sharp jolt of pleasure his fingers elicit and the slow burn from his thrusting cock have her racing towards her end. She throws her head back against his muscular shoulder trying to absorb the myriad sensations, trying to hold on because as much as her body begs for release she never wants this sweet torture to end. His thrusts pick up speed as he nears his own climax, when his lips find her neck again her body can take no more, stars explode behind her eyes as her whole body convulses. She cries out his name and it’s his undoing, he holds her still as he releases himself inside of her. She collapses against him panting heavily and he holds her up, his strong arms a protective cage around her. There game is quite forgotten as is his offer for now at least, though she knows it’s likely to come up again soon. It’s not like she doesn’t want to, in fact given that she cannot sleep without him at the moment it seems like the perfect solution for both of them.

But after the night comes the dawn and just like Manhattan in the cold light of day all their scars will be revealed, are they ready for that?


End file.
